Hands-on Management

Fred Mueller, CEF • Wendt Dunnington Co.

Linfield Corporate Center • 546 Enterprise Drive • Royersford, PA 19468

Carbon Treatment & Filtration

Carbon treatment and filtration are
two of the prime players in any effort
to prolong the useful life of electro-
plating baths. The need for and
response to carbon treatment varies
from bath to bath. Bright Watts nickel
solutions are a real dichotomy,
because most addition agents for
bright nickel are not removed effi-
ciently by the activated carbon used in
carbon treatment. This means we can
run a little bit of activated carbon (one
to two lb per 1,000 gal—see Tip #1)
on the bath at all times. Organics that
are not part of the brightener system
(such as oils and greases—see Tip
#2), as well as brightener decomposi-
tion products, can be kept at a
minimum in this way. A carbon pack
that is adequately sized for your
operation and well maintained will
keep the plated deposit near the peak
of its physical properties and decrease
the need for frequent batch (out-of-
tank) treatments. At the same time,
however, bright nickel chemistry can
be controlled extremely well with a
periodic carbon treatment.
If, after running tests, it proves
necessary to batch treat, use the least
invasive treatment first. Try a simple
carbon treatment on a small amount
of the plating bath and, if successful,
it may be the only treatment needed to
return the bath to service. High pH
and oxidation (peroxide or permanga-
nate) treatments are the “big guns”
and should only be used if absolutely
necessary.
Carbon Treatment for Watts Nickel
The following steps should be

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74 PLATING & SURFACE FINISHING

followed to carbon treat a Watts
nickel solution:
1. Carefully transfer the plating
solution to a suitable treatment
tank (clean, made from compatible
material that can safely operate at
175 °F with heat and agitation).
2. A pH change may not be necessary
to treat your bath, but if you need
more efficiency, the pH of the bath
can be adjusted to between 3.0 and
3.5.
3. Regulate the temperature of the
bath to between 140 and 175 °F.
4. Add the activated carbon (about 4–
8 lb, based on the extent of
contamination, per 100 gal of bath)
and agitate the solution for a
minimum of two hr at temperature
(see Tip #3).
5. Allow the solution to settle without
agitation for one hr or longer. At
many plating shops, this is an
overnight operation. It is a great
time to clean up the plating tank.
Check the condition of the tank,
anodes and filter.
6. Using filter media fine enough to
filter out the carbon (usually a pre-
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coating filter), filter the solution
back into the prepared plating tank.
For a small bath, filter into a clean,
second tank before going back to
the plating tank to keep the carbon
carry-over to a minimum. Hint:
Start with the inlet hose near the
top of the treatment tank to filter
faster and cleaner by avoiding
sucking up the activated carbon
sludge off the bottom of the
treatment tank.
7. After the bath is pumped back,
clean the filter and properly
dispose of the carbon and leftover
solution.
8. Measure and adjust the plating bath
chemistry. Start with pH and
temperature, then test for nickel
(metal), chloride, boric acid and
addition agents. Make any neces-
sary additions.
9. Plate.
High pH with Carbon Treatment
Steps for Watts-type Nickel
The purpose of a high-pH treatment is
to control/remove some metals not
readily dummy-plated out of the
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solution (iron +3, trivalent chromium,
aluminum and silicon—generally
present as a silicate—from cleaners).
Note: This treatment can be done
without the carbon if only a high pH
treatment is needed.
An oxidizer, such as hydrogen
peroxide, must be added to the high
pH treatment to change the valance of
the iron from +2 (ferrous) to +3
(ferric) so that it can be removed as
iron hydroxide.
The solution pH is increased by the
use of nickel carbonate. Be sure to
read the MSDS and use the proper
protective equipment. Nickel carbon-
ate is very messy to add dry, so it is
recommended that a slurry be made
using about eight lb of nickel carbon-
ate with one gal of DI water, and a
dash (1/4–1/2 fluid oz) of the brightener
package’s wetter/anti-pitter. The
carbonate reacts with the acid in the
solution and raises the pH. If the boric
acid that buffers the solution is
present in high concentrations, the
target pH of 5 can be very difficult to
reach. So, if you have the time, let the
bath cool to room temperature and
75
drop out some of the boric acid before
pumping just the solution over to the
treatment tank.* This will help limit
the amount of nickel carbonate used
and help keep the nickel metal
concentration from going too high.
High pH Steps
1. Carefully transfer the plating
solution to a suitable treatment
tank (clean, made from compatible
material that can safely operate at
175 °F with heat and agitation).
2. Regulate the temperature of the
bath to between 140 and 175 °F.
3. Add the nickel carbonate slurry
with good mixing, and try to reach
a pH of about 5 or a little over.
Agitate for one hr and check the
pH again, adding slurry if needed.
The nickel carbonate reacts slowly,
so let some time pass between pH
measurements.
4. Add the activated carbon (about 4–
8 lb, based on the extent of
contamination, per 100 gal of bath)
and agitate the solution for a
minimum of two hr at temperature.
For very contaminated baths, two
treatments with a little less carbon
are better than one with too much
carbon.
5. Allow the solution to settle over-
night without agitation. This is a
great time to clean up the plating
tank. Check the condition of the
tank, anodes and filter.
Bath Maintenance Tips
1. The ideal way to use activated
carbon as part of your everyday
filtering system varies with the
type of filter being used. In general,
you first need to make the filter
media capable of filtering the
carbon fines by adding a little
diatomaceous earth/filter aid. This
is accomplished by recirculating
(closed loop) the solution in a side
tank, then slowly adding the filter
aid. (Always be sure to read the
MSDS and use proper protective
equipment.) Use enough to
completely cover the filter media,
but no so much that you’ll slow
down the flow through the filter
and shorten the effective life of the
packing. Before moving to the next
step, be sure that the solution clears
up, which means that the filter is
working properly. Next, add about
76
6. Using filter media fine enough to
filter out the carbon (usually a pre-
coating filter), filter the solution
back into the prepared plating tank.
For a small bath, filter into a clean,
second tank before going back to
the plating tank to keep the carbon
carry-over to a minimum. Hint:
Start with the inlet hose near the
top of the treatment tank to filter
faster and cleaner by avoiding
sucking up the hydroxides and/or
activated carbon sludge off the
bottom of the treatment tank.
7. After the bath is pumped back,
clean the filter and properly
dispose of the carbon and leftover
solution.
8. Measure and adjust the plating bath
chemistry. Start with pH and
temperature. Dilute sulfuric (one
part acid to three parts water) is
used to lower the pH. Then test for
nickel (metal), chloride, boric acid
and addition agents. Make any
necessary additions.
9. Plate.
Carbon Treatment with Oxider
Steps for Watts-type Nickel
For these solutions, hydrogen perox-
ide is added to the carbon treatment
almost routinely (be sure to read the
MSDS and be extremely careful). It
should not be automatic. Although
adding an oxidizer can alter organic
materials structurally and make them
25 percent of the carbon that you
plan to use during the time you will
run the filter pack (one week to a
month). Add the rest of the
activated carbon through the side
tank in small amounts over the life
of the filter pack. This keeps fresh
carbon on the surface of the filter
media and helps prevent channel-
ing of the solution through areas on
the filter with the greatest flow.
Note: It is more important to keep
the flow going at all times with
vertical plates than horizontal
plates, because the filter pack can
fall off the media if the flow slows
too much.
2. Just a few sources of foreign
organics: sizing in anode bags and
wound filter tubes, algae growing
in the DI water system, filter aid,
oxidation/chlorination of any of the
easier for carbon to adsorb, it can also
create “problem organics” that can be
difficult to remove and are harmful to
the deposit.
After carbon treatment, if testing
indicates oxidation treatment is
needed, then go to the next step. It is
best to carbon-treat first to remove as
many organics as possible before
proceeding to a peroxide or perman-
ganate treatment. Permanganate is a
very powerful oxidizer—stronger than
hydrogen peroxide—and if used, it
must be followed by the high-pH
treatment to remove the manganese
dioxide that is formed.
Add a pint to a quart of 35-percent
hydrogen peroxide per 100 gal of
solution before adding the carbon, and
give it time to react with the organics.
A minimum of two hr is required.
Any unreacted peroxide will come out
as a gas when the carbon is added, so
using a respirator is a wise idea.
Good luck! P&SF
References
Carbon Treatment & Filtration,
AESF Training Course
“Nickel Plating,” Dr. Gary W. Loar,
McGean, Inc., Cleveland, OH,
PFOnline article.
“Carbon Treatment,” Plating Process
Systems (www.platingprocess.com).
__________________
*Thanks to Todd Grundy, chemist at Wendt
Dunnington Co., Royersford, PA. for this handy
bit of information.
organic additives in solution as a
result of high voltage at the anode
(lack of anode area). Not all of
these organics are easily removed
with activated carbon. Run plating
tests (Hull cell) on the materials
that come into contact with the bath
for soluble organics to be sure they
have no harmful effects.
3. Not all activated carbon is created
equal. Ask your supplier for a
recommendation. Some activated
carbon is acid-washed, using either
hydrochloric or sulfuric acids.
When using this type, be sure to
pick the right anion for the plating
bath. For example, don’t use a
hydrochloric acid-washed carbon to
treat a bright acid-copper bath,
because the chloride ion may end
up outside the 50–100 ppm range.
PLATING & SURFACE FINISHING